Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined Alderman William Burns, Alderman Pat Dowell and Roundy’s, Inc., a leading grocer in the Midwest, today to announce a new Mariano’s grocery store will be built in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood at 39th and King Drive on the city’s South Side. For the last six months, Mayor Emanuel and Robert Mariano have been working together on a plan to bring healthy food into underserved neighborhoods in the city. The new store will bring approximately 400 jobs to the local economy. Following the approval and permitting process, construction is expected to begin in 2015.

“Mariano’s continues to demonstrate its commitment to every Chicago community,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This new Bronzeville grocery store will expand access to fresh, healthy food options for our residents. In three short years, Mariano’s has created over 9,000 jobs and will continue to boost the local economy as they continue to grow across the City.”

“We are excited about our entrance into the Bronzeville neighborhood and bringing residents there the same signature Mariano’s experience that all of our stores offer. We are an integral part of every neighborhood we serve and we look forward to bringing one-stop shopping under an umbrella of great customer service to the Bronzeville neighborhood,” said Robert A. Mariano, Chairman and CEO of Roundy’s.

The new Mariano’s location will utilize land that sat vacant for several years, providing high-quality and affordable food options that will complement the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA) mixed income development. It will further revitalize the CHA’s Ida B. Wells, Darrow Homes, Wells Extension and Madden Park sites to develop a stronger, healthier community.

The future 74,000 square foot store will be designed to align with the historical architecture of the Bronzeville neighborhood. Roundy’s has contracted community resident Phil Johnson from Johnson and Lee Architects, a minority-owned architectural firm. The firm also designed the Ping Tom Memorial Park boathouse, which opened in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood in June 2013. Development for the new Mariano’s location is a joint venture between John Bonds from Safeway Construction and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives (CNI), a community development organization that aims to strengthen Chicago area low- to moderate-income neighborhoods.

"Today’s announcement heralds Bronzeville's renaissance,” said Alderman William D. Burns, 4th Ward. “It is a testament to residents who never gave up believing in Bronzeville's potential. I thank Bob Mariano for seeing what I see in Bronzeville."

In March 2013, Mayor Emanuel launched Chicago Neighborhoods Now (CNN), a comprehensive planning and development initiative targeting seven Chicago neighborhoods, including Bronzeville. The construction of the new Mariano’s location aligns with the Bronzeville goals to assist retailers in establishing new neighborhood markets while implementing ambitious redevelopment strategies that connect the entire region. Since the launch of CNN, the Bronzeville neighborhood has seen more than $1.97 billion in public and private investment while 2,700 full-time and 12,800 construction jobs were created in the area.

Over the past three years, Mariano’s has created over 9,000 jobs in the Chicagoland area, By the end of 2014, Mariano’s will have 29 stores in the Chicago metropolitan area and more than 10,000 team members. Mariano’s now has grocery stores in many of Chicago’s neighborhoods including Ravenswood, Edgewater, Bridgeport, Jefferson Park, Lakeshore East, Roscoe Village, Ukrainian Village and the South and West Loop. "Bronzeville residents have waited many years for a new full service grocery store," said Alderman Pat Dowell, 3rd Ward. "Mariano's fits the bill for us and I am pleased to have worked with Mayor Emanuel and Ald. Burns to bring another Mariano's to the South Side."

Mariano’s recently named the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership as a local hiring partner for their Chicago-area grocery stores. The Chicago Cook County Workforce Partnership will play a key role in placing Mariano’s team members at various locations across Mariano’s City of Chicago and suburban Cook County locations with positions range from entry-level to managerial in all departments.

About Roundy’sRoundy’s is a leading grocer in the Midwest with nearly $4.0 billion in sales and more than 23,000 employees. Founded in Milwaukee in 1872, Roundy’s operates 169 retail grocery stores and 114 pharmacies under the Pick ’n Save, Rainbow, Copps, Metro Market and Mariano’s retail banners in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. Roundy’s is committed to helping the communities its stores serve through the Roundy’s Foundation. Chartered in 2003, the Roundy’s Foundation mission is to support organizations working to relieve hunger and helping families in crisis due to domestic abuse, neglect and other at-risk situations.